Airbrush Technique Issue 12

You’ll need to apply more of the base coat colour over that area. You need to be a little careful here, especially if the clear that you sanded through is really fresh. If you spray the new base coat on to wet, there is always the possibility that the reducer in it could cause a reaction and wrinkle the edges where you sanded through. Start out by spraying a light coat over the area and letting it flash off. Take each subsequent coat just beyond the one before to blend or fade the colour into the old paint job so that you don’t end up with an edge or halo effect. Once it’s dry to the touch, tack it off and reclear. these paints with lacquer thinners (about 1:1) and they will chemically bond to the lexan. Prepping the body is as important here as it is with any other paint job and can make or break your project. You probably all ready know, but you paint the inside not the outside. To start you must wash the entire surface using dish soap and a sponge. When the bodies are formed the mold release leaves a residue that will cause fisheyes and adhesion problems. After you wash the body, be sure to dry it with a lint-free cloth. Once it has been washed, try not to touch the inside if you can help it. Now take a cotton ball with some denatured alcohol and swab down the body, using a new clean lint free cloth to dry the surface as you go. Doing this along with the soap wash will ensure you have removed all residue from the body. This is really all the prep that you need, just be sure not to touch inside of the body with your fingers any more than necessary or oils from your skin could cause similar problems. Painting these bodies takes a little planning ahead keeping in mind that all your layers will show up backwards. Your best bet is to get a hold of some lexan and do some practicing to get used to your paints and working backwards. The more practice you can get the better! But what do you practice on, get a 2 litre coke bottle, peel off the label, cut it in half, and Ta-daaa! You have two pieces of polycarbonate plastic. Good luck and send pictures. Hello. I have been airbrushing as a hobby for a couple of years now, but mostly on illustration board and canvas. My son is into RC cars and wants to know if dad can do a custom paint job on the plastic body. I would love nothing more than to do this for him, but I don’t even know where to start. I’m hoping that you can help me out with what materials to use and how to prepare the body. Thank you. J. Hill, Utah There are a few brands of paint out there, and some are better than others. When you buy paint, be sure to get the kind that is specifically formulated for polycarbonate plastic (or lexan for short). The correct paint bonds itself to the plastic, is flexible, and allows it to stay in intact even after an impact, and you know those are going to happen.Some of the more common ones are lacquer-based paints like Pactra, Testors, Tamiya, Alcad II, and a newer one called Spaz-Stixs which is specially formulated for lexan bodies. Spaz paints offer glow in the dark paint, metal finishes, and the ever-popular color change. You can reduce art work above by Kicks, Blair Elloitt www.blairairbrushing.com http://www.blairairbrushing.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Airbrush Technique Issue 12

Airbrush Technique Issue 12 Contents Gerold Radmer Mick Cassidy Hairydidit Jammer Jim Ferraro Patrick Charuel Kicks Jack Giachino Neil Roth Mike Ellwood

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